


Destiny and Desire

by atamascolily



Category: The Adventures of Sinbad (TV)
Genre: M/M, Slash, The writers of the show made this really easy, What if?, canon compliant up to a point, filling in gaps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 10:47:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12910326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atamascolily/pseuds/atamascolily
Summary: Sinbad goes to meet Tetsu - a samurai warrior known as the Master for his prowess in battle - hoping to get out of a duel to the death with him in the morning for political reasons. The two find they have an unexpected connection, and things don't exactly go as planned.





	Destiny and Desire

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you didn't watch 1x05, "The Ronin," and get seriously ship-y vibes from Sinbad and Tetsu in this episode, this fic is not for you. But frankly, it's not that much of a stretch to go from "magical bracelets of BFF-ness" to full-on slash, and with canon dialogue like "Somehow we are linked. Bound together by destiny and desire," the fic practically writes itself.

Sinbad didn't know what to think when Tetsu, the man known as the Master, summoned him to dinner. Tomorrow, they were supposed to fight a duel to the death, and there didn't seem to be any way out of this mess - especially since the Master never lost. Sinbad didn't want any of this. He wouldn't be here if Kalel hadn't lured him here under false pretenses. 

Yet he went to see the Master anyway. Because maybe he could persuade the Master to choose a different way. Because he didn't know what else to do. Because if he stayed in the same room with Kalel, he just might give in to the temptation to punch the erstwhile ruler of Baronia in the face, and that probably wouldn't help anything. Because probably there would be wine and he could really use a drink right now. 

Why would a samurai from Nippon, of all people, serve a degenerate warlord like Kattah, so far away from his ancestral home? What was going on here? Clearly, there had to be more to this situation than met the eye. 

Sinbad had only been to Nippon proper once, on a very memorable voyage a few years back. He'd spent a few more sailing the seas between Nippon and the vast kingdom of Ch'in, after some very profitable rounds in the Spice Islands. On his way over to the Master's tent, he racked his brains, trying to remember every detail he could from his experiences in Nippon. He hadn't realized at the time that these seemingly incidental details about a foreign culture might be the key to saving his life later on. Life was funny like that. As Master Dim-Dim always said, you should never stop learning, because you never knew what would come in handy. 

He hoped he knew enough to be able to talk his way out of this one, otherwise this would be his last night on earth. 

***

It started out well enough. He'd startled Tetsu with his knowledge of Nipponese customs - removing his shoes, his sword, how to sit, how to drink tea. They'd bantered, each trying to get a feel for the other, feinting with carefully chosen words. In Sinbad's case, those words were chosen to confuse Tetsu, set him off balance. "I sense you are a complicated man," Tetsu admitted. Inwardly, Sinbad cheered. 

So far, so good. And the wine, as he'd suspected, was very good indeed.

_Just keep him talking._ If he could keep Tetsu talking, his just might have a chance at getting both of them out of this mess alive. 

As he began to probe into Tetsu's past, he worried that the man might close up, shut down, withdraw before Sinbad had a chance to make his case. He hadn't counted on the unexpected appearance of a rainbow bracelet around Tetsu's left wrist, hadn't counted on that shared bond of being lost in a storm, and waking up as a stranger in a strange land, with no memory of how you'd gotten there or who was responsible for the mysterious piece of jewelry you now carried. 

Sinbad had never met anyone else with a rainbow bracelet before, but Tetsu was even more surprised by it. The man was so used to isolation, to being solitary and exceptional. What happened when that isolation was broken? When someone else belonged to the same club? 

He almost lost Tetsu then. The man couldn't contain it, couldn't overcome Sinbad's threat to his worldview, the only thing that held him together (even as it killed his soul). 

So Sinbad made a gamble, one last, final appeal to Tetsu. He wasn't sure it was going to work, but it was the only thing he could think of. In Nippon, they called it _bushido_ \- the way of the warrior. Honor. If he could appeal to Tetsu's sense of honor, perhaps Sinbad could persuade him then. "A man of honour defending a dishonourable thug," he said to Tetsu. 

He knew he'd succeeded at sowing the seeds of doubt when, instead of lashing out like he'd done before, Tetsu hesitated. "Things would’ve been simpler if I’d become what I always wanted," he finally said. "A sailor. I will truly regret killing you tomorrow."

_Got him! Now just reel him in..._

Tetsu was still resisting his entreaties, but his resolve was beginning to crumble, even as he protested. He was imagining the possibilities outside blind obedience to the status quo. He was beginning to recall his childhood dreams, and what he truly wanted out of life. Here he was pouring his heart out to a man he claimed he was going to kill in the morning. A man he _would_ kill if Sinbad didn't see this through. 

"...This world is without dreams, Sinbad. Might rules over heart," Tetsu concluded sadly. 

"Somehow we are linked," Sinbad said, raising his left arm to show his rainbow bracelet. "Bound together by destiny and desire." And as he spoke, the bracelet shimmered once, before the flash faded abruptly as it had come. 

He'd never seen it do anything like that before. Was it more than simply rhetoric? Were they, in fact, truly linked? 

From the consternation on Tetsu's face as he stared at Sinbad's bracelet, that perhaps Sinbad's words had finally struck home. Tetsu drew his arm up, the sleeves of his white Nippon robe falling back to expose his own bracelet. It, too, shimmered as they watched. 

As if in answer, Sinbad's bracelet flashed again. Suddenly, he was infused with such a fundamental sense of _rightness_ , of _connection_ , something he'd never felt before for any human being. Surely Tetsu must be feeling it, too? It was now or never. He took a deep breath, and lowered his arm back to his side. "Your days as Kattah’s butcher must end, Tetsu," he said gently. 

Tetsu's bracelet flashed one last time. He looked down at his wrist as that flash faded, pulling his arm back under his sleeve abruptly. He was breathing hard, his eyes rolling back his head, clearly conflicted- 

-and then he abruptly staggered forward into Sinbad's arms and kissed him on the mouth. 

_I guess that's one way of agreeing with me,_ Sinbad thought in surprise, though he didn't pull away. Apparently, the rainbow bracelet had had as great an effect on Tetsu as it had on him. And if the intensity with which Tetsu was kissing him was any indication, Sinbad probably wasn't going to die in the morning. So that was good. 

He hadn't planned on things working out this way, but somehow it seemed so _right_ , he wasn't about to call a halt now. Tetsu's hard, implacable shell was broken, and the real man underneath was so soft, vulnerable - - and also strong, capable, cunning and clever. So eager to love and be loved. And Sinbad was more than willing to do so if Tetsu was willing to accept it from him. 

_"Bound together by destiny and desire."_ He'd meant it in a rhetorical sense, but clearly he'd been more right than he knew. Destiny had brought them here to this moment - but there was plenty of desire, too. From both of them. 

Abruptly, Tetsu broke away, breathing hard. "I can't," he whispered. "I can't beat Kattah. I can't. I can't. I can't." 

"Ssssh," Sinbad whispered, brushing the back of one hand against Tetsu's lip, using his other hand to tilt Tetsu's face towards his. "You're not alone anymore, Tetsu. My crew and I will help you. We're very good at this sort of thing, and with your help - I know we can do it. No one will have to die tomorrow. Your dreams will come true. You just have to trust me." 

"I-" 

"The heart triumphs over might," Sinbad whispered. "Show me your heart." And he kissed Tetsu again. Tetsu hesitated for a second, and surrendered, this time for good. 

He wasn't sure which one of them started the undressing, but he remembered fumbling with the folds of the belt around Tetsu's waist (why did Nippon clothing have to be so damnably _difficult_ ), until the Master slapped his hand away and undid something and everything fell loose and shining, just like his long dark hair fell over his back and shoulders. And that scratchy woven flooring of the tent wasn't exactly comfortable on bare skin - but it wasn't terrible, either and he'd had a lot worse. He wasn't really thinking too clearly at that point. He wasn't sure if it was because of the bracelets (which kept flashing at particularly pleasurable moments), or the wine, or the intoxicating feeling of skin and warmth and heat that had been far too long gone in his life. 

It was a good thing the night was still young, for there was much planning to do if the two of them were going to survive tomorrow. And it was a good thing there was still plenty of wine. 

But there would be time enough for all of that when they had taken their delight in each other, when they had met each other most fully and wholly on the other side of bliss. 

***

The next day - after their battle to the "death" (rigged in advance with the help of the crew, who had been up to all sorts of interesting shenanigans in his absence; Maeve had apparently seduced Kattah while Sinbad had been seducing Tetsu), and the inevitable showdown when Kattah did not take kindly to his samurai's defection - Tetsu was free. Free from his self-imposed servitude to an unscrupulous master, free to pursue his dreams of sailing on the open sea, bound to no one in particular, yet servant of all. Free to choose at last. His joy was a glorious thing, and Sinbad reveled in it, even as his heart twinged at the pain of letting this kindred spirit go his own way so soon. But to cling would deny Tetsu a chance to be master of his own destiny, and that wasn't something Sinbad could do in good conscience. And so they parted ways as friends, with a bond that was as deep as the one he shared with his crew. Deeper, in some ways. 

Long after Tetsu's small sailboat has vanished over the edge of the horizon, Sinbad still remembered the touch of Tetsu's body against his, Tetsu's delighted smile at his new boat, the echo of Tetsu's words in his mind: 

" _Thank you, Sinbad. You reminded me of our spiritual bond and set me free._ "

_Oh, it was more than simply spiritual, my friend_ , Sinbad had wanted to tease. But the crew has been watching and Sinbad didn't want them to know what he and Tetsu had shared. It was a private thing, something they wouldn't understand. It was something that belonged to him and Tetsu alone. 

Yet Sinbad had no doubt that either of them would forget that night. He didn't know what the rainbow bracelets meant, or who had placed them on their wrists and why - but whoever it was had clearly chosen them for a reason. Perhaps one day, that mystery would be revealed to him, but for now, he was content. 

_Farewell, my warrior companion of the heart. I have no doubt we'll meet again. May your sailing be smooth and steady until that day comes._


End file.
